Music. After hours.

Boukman Eksperyans' Message Gets New Meaning

June 11, 1999|By Achy Obejas.

When the Museum of Contemporary Art's fourth annual Summer Solstice celebration kicks off June 18, one of its headliners will be a band whose political message, probably unintentionally, is better timed than anyone could haven imagined a few weeks back.

Just consider the news: the New York cop-and-the-stick story, the two killings of young blacks by police recently here in Chicago.

The group is Boukman Eksperyans, probably Haiti's most popular musical ensemble, but also its most finely tuned to the streets of that constantly troubled island.

The news there? In the last few weeks, the Port-au-Prince police chief was accused of murdering 11 suspects being held in jail. He skipped town, got caught in the neighboring Dominican Republic and is on his way back. In the meantime, police officers went wild on a media photographer, prompting (of all things) a protest march by journalists against police brutality.

Not that Boukman needed all the recent activity for material. Led by Theodore "Lolo" Beaubrun Jr. (the son of one of Haiti's most renowned composers and the scion of a longtime musical and political family), Boukman has long focused on issues of power and its abuse. The group itself is named for Jacob Boukman, who led a slave rebellion back before Haiti became the first black republic in the western hemisphere.

Arrested and harassed for its opposition to dictator Papa Doc Duvalier, Boukman hasn't been a favorite of the governments that followed. Not merely progressive, but radical, they've been censored and suppressed. Last year, they had to rely on Wycleff Jean of The Fugees to sneak them into his act during a festival there in order to be heard.

Miraculously, what Beaubrun and his ensemble do is not just preach -- although they do preach, and plenty, in a wonderfully lilting Creole particular to Haiti. Building on the their native music, they add doses of calypso, reggae, jazz, funk, rap and salsa to create a confection of rhythms. Bass player Maquel Jean Baptiste uses a heavy line to both anchor and adorn an irresistible dance style. Boukman's latest album, titled "Revolution," continues in the same exultant mood.

Also up for Summer Solstice: The Radical Faeries will open things up with a ritual, percussionists Hamid Drake and Michael Zerang will perform both sunset and sunrise concerts, the folks from the Curious Theatre Branch will offer their usual zaniness, Redmoon Theater will bring its puppets and country singer Robbie Fulks his songs.

In addition, there will be free cheesecake, massages, henna tattooing, tai chi, chalk drawing, tarot card readings, lots of dancing and all sorts of games.

It all starts June 18 at the MCA, during a 24-hour period beginning at 5 p.m. In years past, this event has drawn thousands and thousands of people. Here are a few tips: Don't drive -- parking will be impossible and very costly if you find it; call ahead and get the schedule so you know exactly when what you want to see or do is happening; assume you'll spend the day and or night. It's a very seductive show.

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Percussionist Damon Short seems to have it all: a fine-tuned sense of classic jazz, a funky street beat, the free-flowing energy cultivated with some of our town's best avant-garde musicians. Short is joined this Tuesday at the HotHouse by Chuck Burdelik on reeds, Ryan Schulz on trumpet and Larry Kohut on bass. Expect the usual wild ride improvs but listen up for Short's own innovative compositions.

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Klezmer music's merging with jazz and pop and even reggae lately, but if you want to hear the real thing -- the bouncy bluesy stuff -- Chicago's got one of its best exponents in the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. Local faves for years, they're playing out in Skokie next Thursday and again in July. There will be lots of swinging and dancing -- come prepared to exercise.

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A few weeks back, we identified one of the directors of Sweet Corn's "Passion Follies" as Patrick Mousel. Mousel's an actor with the same company; we meant Patrick Brooks.

Got a favorite summer place? A place where there's a starry night for a roof? Know of a place that's cool -- as in chilly temperatures -- that keeps it that way no matter the heat waves sweeping Chicago? Where do you hang out during these sticky summer nights? Drop me a line at achy@aol.com and let me know!